Federal Judge Blocks Changes to Student Loan Forgiveness Program

The ruling prevents the Education Department from excluding specific nonprofit and government employers from the student loan forgiveness program, ensuring that current and future public service workers remain eligible for loan cancellation regardless of their employer's political or social activities.

• •U.S. District Judge Myong Joun vacated the Education Department's new eligibility rules for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program.
• •The ruling prevents the Education Department from excluding employers deemed to have a 'substantial illegal purpose' from the program.
• •The blocked rules would have allowed the exclusion of groups involved in 'chemical castration' (including puberty-delaying therapy), illegal immigration, or supporting terrorist organizations.
• •The judge ruled the department overstepped its power and failed to connect its definitions of illegal activity to existing criminal statutes.
• •The court found the rules threatened to violate First Amendment free speech protections by imposing the administration's policy views on employers.
• •The judge noted the department's own estimates suggested fewer than 10 employers would be barred per year, questioning the necessity of the sweeping rule.
• •The PSLF program was created by Congress in 2007 to forgive federal student loans after 10 years of public service work.
• •The program has provided loan cancellation for more than 1 million Americans to date.
• •The lawsuit was brought by a coalition of more than 20 states, nonprofit groups, and cities.